Houston Is Unstoppable: Why Texas’ Juggernaut Is America’s #1 Job Creator in The Atlantic. ”Houston is blessed by topography and geography. But the city’s recent success is really a masterclass in learning from history.” Good explanation of how Houston insulated it from the deep national and global recession and is dominating other cities in terms of job growth since the crash. Hat tip to Veronica.

How the population of Houston breaks down geographically. Surprisingly, less than 2% of our recent growth has been inside the loop. I found it interesting that the numbers break down so cleanly: about a half-million inside the loop, 1.5 million to the beltway, 2 million outside the beltway but inside Harris County, and then another 2 million outside the county but in the MSA. Of course you have to think of those numbers as odometers that are constantly growing…

Finally, this interesting graph from The Economist magazine showing life satisfaction as it relates to income in different countries. This gets to the essence of Houston’s competitive advantage: our low cost of living moves people further up these lines even with modest incomes. News flash: People are just plain happier when their salary goes further (surprise!).